ATPCO and SITA today announced that British Airways, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, the airlines of the LATAM Group, and Finnair will participate in NDC Exchange, a platform that enables content interoperability across the airline distribution ecosystem and is a trusted bridge between IATA’s NDC (New Distribution Capability) and traditional distribution methods.
“By connecting to NDC Exchange we have access to these first movers, as well as other airlines as they join. By building a single connection to NDC Exchange, we are being more efficient with our development resources, letting us focus on customer experience rather than content acquisition. We’re excited about the momentum this is getting and can’t wait for the next airline,” said Rich Miller of Serko, an industry-leading corporate booking tool.
NDC Exchange is a community platform that enables API connectivity between airlines and sellers (GDSs, travel agents, aggregators, OTAs, and TMCs) so that they can exchange messages easily and cost effectively. NDC Exchange supports shopping, booking, and servicing workflows and enables the cross-selling of ancillary services between airlines, and among airlines and sellers. Using a common data model, it normalizes messages regardless of version or format, creating interoperability across the distribution ecosystem. Travel sellers can access multiple airlines via NDC Exchange, hence lowering the cost of their implementation.
“NDC Exchange is a unique industry platform that allows airlines and sellers to advance their NDC programs at a pace that best suits their business needs,” said Graham Wareham, Director of Products & Solutions for ATPCO. “With the addition of these five world class airlines to Air Canada, the exchange now has become a compelling part of the NDC ecosystem. With one simple connection, sellers and other airlines can easily access all five carriers.”
NDC Exchange facilitates the real-time XML message translation enabling airlines and travel sellers to quickly and efficiently connect to the platform regardless of their API schema or standard. Once connected to NDC Exchange, airlines have access to all connected travel sellers and those travel sellers have access to all connected airlines.
NDC Exchange has seen robust industry interest, with early-joiners Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) providing settlement support and Routehappy by ATPCO powering rich content capabilities to enhance retailing.
NDC is a standard, developed and implemented in accordance with applicable laws, which is aimed at enabling the travel industry to transform the way services are retailed to leisure and business travelers. It supports greater product differentiation, access to full and rich content, and delivers a more transparent shopping experience.
